Tooth powder dispenser



Jan. 1, 1952 F. J. FACIL@ 2,580,947

. Toom POWDER DISPENSER Filed Dea. 25. 194e Patented Jan. l, 1952 OFFICE y' Y f TooTHroWDER DrsPENsEn Ferdinando J. Pacilio, Chicago, Ill.

Application December 23, 1946, Serial No. 717,956

1 claim. l(o1. 248-204) l y My'inventlon relates to a powdered material dispenser and particularly to a device which will dispense a measured quantity of toothpowder each time it is operated.` 'l f L Y 1 Theprincipal object of my invention is to provide an improved toothpowder -dispenser which may bev mounted ai:v any convenient'placeand `which when actuated will; dispense into the palm of the hand of the operator or onto the bristles of a ltooth brush .a predetermined and measured quantity of powder. Y

.A iurtherobject isV to provide ari-improved tooth powder dispenser which is pleasing in appearance and has a minimum ofk moving parts;

Another Objectis to provide an improved tooth powder dispenser removably supporting a tooth powderfcontainer on the outer end of an arm which is mounted for limited pivotal movement on a base and is spring-biased 't'o one extreme position. l

Still another object is to provide an improved tooth powder dispenser which'is rugged in construction and simple and inexpensive to manufacture.v .1

Otherobjects yand. advantages will become apparent f rom the following description taken in conjunction with the` accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig..1 is a side view of the dispenser showing theparts in normal position andthe dispenser mounted upon a wooden upright or wall member;

Fig. 2 is a medial longitudinal section of the upper portion of the dispenser on an enlarged scale and may be considered as being taken along the line 2 2 of Fig. 3 looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the base and may be considered as being taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of that portion of the dispenser illustrated in Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a bottom view of the container illustrating the adjustable feature of the dispenser and may be considered as being taken along the line 5--5 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Essentially my dispenser referred to generally by the reference character I0 comprises a base l2, a powdencontainer I4, and a movable arm i8 by the means of which the powder container I4 is mounted upon the base I2. The base l2 may take any number of different forms, and I have illustrated a preferred form having a pleasing and ornamental design in the drawing; The base I2 comprises a central hollow body portion I8 surrounded by av flange 20 which lies iiush against va wall orf-other upright member 22. Screws 24 passing through suitable holes in the ange secure the dispenser Iil to the Wall 22.

Projecting outwardly from the hollow body portion IB is a pair 'of relatively long flanges or ears 26 which are connectedbyan ornamental bridging section 28attheir upper ends. Projecting outwardly yfrom-th`e upper portions of the flanges 26 and across the'face of the body portion I8 is a pair of horizontal members 30 which are vcut out' at'32 to provide recesses for holding tooth brushes. The size of the base I2 will in most instances dictate the `number of `brushes which lcan be accommodate by the dispenser.

Thebase I2 may be-made of any suitable material but I prefer to make it of a moldable plastic material or alightometal such as aluminum.

` The inner end 34 of the arm I6 shown to have a rectangular section is bent so 'as to give the arm 'an' L .shape and the' upwardly projecting portion or leg 36 is conned between the anges or ears '26. Adjacentthefupper end of the portion 36 is a pivot pin 38- which projects through the'lilanges 26 and through the arm I6; the'pivot pin 38 ymay be in the form of a rivet 'to prevent removal. VA screw 40 threaded into a tapped boss 42 on 'the hollow or inner side of the body portion I8 of the base I2 passes vthrough an opening 44 in the upwardly projecting leg-36 of the arm. A coil`spring 46' having itsinnerend Yseated in a recess 48 in theI boss`42 and 'itsou-tenend' pressing against one face of the upwardly projecting leg 36 ofthe arm? I6 biases 'the arm outwardly and upwardly to maintain it in the position shown in Fig. 1. The amount of movement of the arm I6 is shown by the dotted line position of the arm in Fig. 2 and this range of movement may be adjusted by means of the screw 40 for purposes hereinafter discussed.

As seen in Fig 1, the container I4 is mounted on the outer end of the arm I6. While I have shown the container to have an oval cross-sectional shape, similar to the shape of the container of a popular brand of tooth powder, it may take any shape. It is preferable, though, that the container I4 be removable; consequently I have provided the outer end of the arm I6 with a cageor support 50 which has the same general shapeasthat of the container I4 and which is secured to the outer end of the arm by brazing or soldering as at 5I. The support 50 3 has its lower edge 52 rolled under so that the container I4 will be securely held and will have no tendency to slip through the support 50. A linger tab 54 is provided at the lower and outwardly facing edge of the support 50 and its use will be described presently.

Referring now particularly to Fig. 5, the lower end of the container i4 is provided with an adjustable opening 56 of a well known type incorporating. a movable shutter or :'diaphragm, :In the embodimentshown the container is opened by twisting a cap 58 in the counterclockwise direction and is closed by twisting the cap in the clockwise direction. An indentation 60 .in the cap 58 limits the movement in both directions.

I have found by actual use that with .anovalshaped opening which is approximately threeeighths inch in length it is possible toleave the container when not in use in the open position as the powder shows no 4tendency to fall through :the opening. Apparently ithe vpowder `calles or iorms'a zbridge over the-.opening which prevents Iit from fallingifree; this appears .to be a char acteristic `of tooth powder. However, :I provide an opening 56 of 'the type .which can `he,mm/ ed to various positions between ffull open and :full closed, so that by varying the sizeof the opening, variable amounts .of powder can be dispensed with each actuation of Athe device.

My .tooth l,powder dispenser r,is operated from the position 'showninfFig '1. The operator-holds Y one hand, :palm up. or the :tooth brush two or three inches below 'the :mouth of the container I4. With the 1fingers of the other hand he taps the iinger .tab A54 smartly :so that the container i4 is depressed -rapidly in Yan arcuate'path about the pivot 3B to `full lower position as shown hy the ,dotted lines -(Fig. 2), :bringing the elbowed portion of the l.shaped arm i6 againstthe base I8. During this movements. measured rpredetermined quantity of tooth powderwill `be dispensed depending upon the `size-oi ,the f.opening 56. I have `alsofound that the amount of powder dis pensed also :depends "upon the distance through which .theeontainer :M moves .as limited by the screw 4,0. When released the spring l48 .moves the arm ipoutwardly and upwardlyand restores the `container' Hl vto the position shown in Fig. 1 for a subsequent operation.

From :the foregoing description it -will he seen that y.the device .is simple in construction and operation is Aso easy that a small Vchild `,can use it. It will also .be seen -thatcomplete adjustability of the device is obtained Vso lthat -diierent `pre-- determined measured amounts oi Vpowder can be dispensed.

While I have shown a preferred embodiment of the invention, I do not wish to be limited except by the scope of the appended claim. What I claim is new and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

A device for dispensing tooth powder from a container, comprising a base incorporating means by which the device may be mounted upon an upright support, said base having a pair of parallel earsprojecting 'forwardly therefrom, an xL-shaped arm 'having `a 'first leg thereof positioned between said ears and arranged in a nearly vertical position and having a. second leg Dmjectingfoutwardly from said base at the lower end of said first leg, a pivot pin passing through the upperportion of said iirst leg and into said ears pivotallvtomountsaid arm to said ears. a vertically disposed cage having an opening in fits lower --end fixedly mounted on the outer end of said second leg and adapted removably to sup- .portia powder container, said cagebeing :adapted to receive the dispensing end of the powder container, a-spring `confined 'between rsaid base and said rst leg below said lpivot pin so as to 'bias said 'arm :outwardly and upwardly, a threaded aperture extending inwardly into said base from a point-,between said ears and lbelow rvsaid pivot pin, and a stop member having fa `threaded stem screwed into said threaded aperture, said vstop member having a part engageable with Asaid rst leg to limit the upward movement of said `ses ond leg and being adjustable according to the extent said stem is screwed into said Vaperture to vary the distance through which said 'arm is `moved when the device is actuated.

FERDINANDO J. PACILIO.

VREFERENCES CITED The following references are of record 'in the le ci this patent:

UNITED STATES EAFIENTS Number Name Date '174,668 Ford Mar. 14, 1876 492,394 Eichberg Feb. 28, 1693 :584,387 Merget June 15, 1897 632,999 Grant Sept. 12, 1899 '932,482 Lovejoy Aug. 31, 1909 9%,818 VBarker Oct. 4, 1910 1,642,367 Hand etal Sept. 13, 1927 1,644,661 Au Fenast Oct. 11, 192i` 1,762,961 Weinberg June 10, 1930 1,803,446 Warrick `May 5, 111931 

